Immigration reform: Senate backs 'border surge' in test vote

The support of 67 senators on a test vote for a so-called “border surge” deal on Monday strongly signaled that a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws will clear the Senate later this week.

The amendment, from Republican Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and John Hoeven of North Dakota, cleared a procedural vote in the Senate 67-27. Fifteen Republicans voted in favor of cloture, and zero Democrats broke from their party to oppose the measure.

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Corker-Hoeven 'Border surge' amendment garners 60 votes

Immigration debate gets heated

The overwhelming vote Monday accelerates the Senate momentum for immigration reform as its supporters race toward a self-imposed July 4 deadline to pass the bill. The Gang of Eight authors have inched closer to a supermajority of votes that could be as high as 70 after the group struck a deal with Corker and Hoeven that bolsters security resources for the U.S.-Mexico boundary.

But frustration from some Senate Republicans over what they see as a plodding floor process boiled over Monday, as 14 GOP senators vented in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that their amendments weren’t getting heard. They are angry that there haven’t been enough votes on the Senate floor and many of the changes to the bill are being incorporated in a single Corker-Hoeven amendment.

The broad Corker-Hoeven compromise is likely the last major change to the immigration bill. Reid filed cloture on the overall Gang of Eight bill Monday afternoon, which sets up another procedural vote for Wednesday.

Though some senators are demanding more time and opportunities to offer amendments, an agreement to vote on them would require unanimous consent, which appears unlikely.

“We could have had three genuine weeks on this bill, processing amendments and having votes,” Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said during a floor speech Monday. “Yet, we’re forced to vote on packages that were concocted behind closed doors.”

A spokesman for Reid rebuffed the complaints from Republican senators, saying the same senators had blocked agreement on amendment votes throughout the month.

Added Corker: “The very people who are calling for more amendments are those who have objected to amendments being voted on. I think it’s ironic.”

But one by one on Monday, some undeclared Republicans announced that they won’t be backing the Corker-Hoeven compromise. That decision signals they will oppose the underlying legislation when it comes up for a final vote later this week.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he couldn’t support a proposal that was “cobbled together” at the last minute. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), a retiring senator once eyed as a potential Gang supporter, announced his opposition with a list of eight complaints about the Corker-Hoeven deal.

And Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) wrote on Twitter: “Any effort to deal w/ illegal immigration must secure the border — Corker-Hoeven amendment and current bill do not achieve this goal.”